Rabbitte urges investigation of 12-year-old’s arson death

LABOUR PARTY leader Pat Rabbitte has supported calls from a Dublin family for an independent investigation into the death of their son in a suspected arson attack.

Tomorrow is the fourth anniversary of the death of Stephen Hughes, 12, who died from smoke inhalation after fire broke out in a makeshift pallet hut where he was having a slumber party with a friend near his family home at Rossfield Park, Tallaght, in the early hours of September 1, 2001.

CCTV footage recovered from a nearby property showed a man approaching the scene and hurrying away a few minutes later just before a small explosion set the pallets on fire.

Although a nationwide appeal for more information was made on RTÉ’s Crimeline (now Crimecall) programme, nobody has ever been charged.

“It is now four years since the tragic death of Stephen Hughes in a fatal fire in my constituency and we are no closer to catching the young boy’s killer. Someone must be held accountable for this shocking crime,” said Mr Rabbitte yesterday.

The Labour leader said there was a feeling among Stephen’s family and the local community that an independent investigation was necessary because of the lack of progress in the case.

Last night, Stephen’s mother, Elizabeth said she believed that evidence was not being acted on by gardaí.

“I was very happy with the investigation for the first year but since then it has gone nowhere. I was so frustrated that I made my own door-to-door inquiries but I don’t think the information I gathered was acted on properly,” she said.

Deputy Rabbitte expressed frustration that he had been unable to get any answers about the crime as both Justice Minister Michael McDowell and gardaí had told him that the file was still active.

He described the circumstances of Stephen’s death as “a horrific crime” especially as there appeared to be no motive for the arson attack.

A garda spokesperson confirmed that the file on the death of the Tallaght schoolboy - who was also known as Stephen Connors - remained open.

“The person in the CCTV film has never been identified even though he is the key to resolving this whole matter,” said the spokesperson.

A senior garda source added that the quality of the video footage was poor which also presented difficulties.

However, people living in the Rossfield area of Tallaght believe gardaí are aware of the identity of someone, possibly a garda informer, who is considered the prime suspect in the case.